Intentional Risk (R.I.S.C. Book 4)
Page 30
“Ah, darlin’.” He pulled her close. “I love you, too.”
After kissing her breathless, Derek glanced down at her with an ornery grin.
“So. What do you want to do after we look at the land? I was thinkin’ we could highjack a hot air balloon and fly over the gulf. Maybe have a picnic dinner on the pier and then sneak onto one of those giant cruise ships and sail around the world.”
Charlie grinned, but rather than play along, she shook her head. “I don’t want to go anywhere else. I’m already living my fantasy. Right here, with you.”
The love in his eyes grew even deeper. As she sat there, wrapped in the warmth and comfort of his arms, Charlie thanked God for creating such a perfect, wonderful man.
Fate may have kept them apart all those years, but she had him back now...and she was never letting him go.
****
From his post at one corner of the room, Grant Hill surveyed the large crowd.
Dressed in a black suit, crisp, white shirt, and black tie, the former SEAL stood with his feet shoulder-width apart, hands crossed loosely in front. As he had for the past hour, he assessed the room for possible threats to the guest of honor, Senator William Cantrell.
This was his final night of this assignment, and for that, he couldn’t be more grateful. What was supposed to be a two-week job playing babysitter for the Texas senator had turned into a full month of appearances and high-dollar fundraisers.
While he understood the need for extra security at events like these, Grant would rather be dodging bullets while running barefoot in his fucking boxers than spend one more night doing this shit.
As he continued scanning the large banquet hall located in the senator’s mansion, Grant felt nauseated watching yet another group of entitled, overpaid pricks flashing their egos and checkbooks at each other like it was some sort of fucked-up competition.
Their wives—or mistresses, take your pick—were no better.
He’d been around more silicone in the last month than a class full of third-graders on a field trip to a goddamn recycling plant. Between the dyed hair, fake tits, and Botox-induced smiles, he barely remembered what a real woman even looked like.
Thoughts of real women made him think of the newest addition to the R.I.S.C. clan. Derek had called earlier to share the news that he and Charlie had gotten engaged.
Grant had offered the socially required congratulations, but truth be told, he didn’t get it.
D was the third member of R.I.S.C.’s Alpha Team to fall into the relationship trap. Not only were all three men ridiculously head-over-ass, his teammates had also come too damn close to losing the women they’d fallen in love with.
Not that he didn’t like Liv, Lexi, and Charlie. All three were sweet and, when they needed to be, forces to be reckoned with. They’d each survived insurmountable odds and more than earned his respect.
Still didn’t mean he agreed with his friend’s choices to settle down. Not that they’d asked.
Normally, Grant wouldn’t give two fucks what his friends did with their personal lives. To each their own and all that shit. But these guys were some of the toughest men he’d ever known.
Doing what they do, knowing how messed up the world truly is? No way would he open himself up to the kind of pain his teammates had experienced.
Been there, done that.
Grant learned a long time ago no matter how much you loved someone, that person always left. By choice or death, it didn’t matter. They would leave, and the other person was left behind to suffer in their wake.
Why fucking bother?
He’d already lived that shit once. Was told by so many that, with time, his wounded heart would heal. It was the biggest line of bullshit ever to be thrown his way.
Even now, all these years later, the pain was still there. Some days, it was no more than a dull ache. Others, it was as fresh as the day it happened.
So, no. Grant Hill didn’t do love or anything close to it. He fucked when he wanted to fuck and moved on. No strings, no commitments, and sure as hell no thoughts of happily ever after, because he knew better than most. That shit didn’t exist.
He was still mentally shaking his head at his friends—the poor bastards—when a woman entered the room through its elaborate double doors. Grant recognized her from the pictures he’d been shown, but they hadn’t come close to doing the beautiful redhead justice.
Dressed in a long, black dress that hugged her perky breasts in the most delicious way, Senator Cantrell’s daughter began making her way through the crowd of supporters. She was poised and moved with a graceful ease one would expect from someone of her stature.
Now at her father’s side, she hugged him with genuine affection, the senator returning the embrace as if the two had done so a million times before. A pang of jealously surprised him, and it took Grant a second to realize he was staring.
Cantrell said something to his daughter and they both turned his way. Blinking, he tore his eyes from them and looked back over the crowd, but his thoughts remained on the stunning woman.
For reasons he didn’t understand, Grant became agitated when the father and daughter duo began walking in his direction. Before long, he heard Cantrell’s rough voice as the older man approached him with a smile.
“Mr. Hill, there’s someone I’d like you to meet. This is my daughter, Brynnon. Brynnon, this is Grant Hill, the security expert I told you about.”
Brynnon smiled up at him, and when Grant looked into the set of almond-shaped, emerald eyes, his pulse spiked to a rate well beyond his norm.
“It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Hill. My father has spoken very highly of you.”
Against his better judgment, Grant took the woman’s outstretched hand. She had a surprisingly strong grip, and her skin was a little callused. Something Grant found oddly enticing.
An electric jolt raced up his arm and down his spine from their contact, and he hid the fact that his lungs had just seized in his chest. What the hell is wrong with you?
Jaw clenched, Grant was still trying to find an explanation for the visceral reaction he was having to this woman when he realized she was waiting for him to respond.
Clearing his throat, he did his best to not growl. “Nice to meet you, Miss Cantrell.”
“Please. Call me Brynnon.”
She sounded pleasant, and her smile seemed legit, but there was something in those amazing eyes that Grant couldn’t quite put his finger on. Though there was no real evidence to the contrary, he got the feeling she’d rather be anywhere else but here.
Brynnon pulled her hand free, and Grant felt an unwelcomed void from the loss of contact. After a brief conversation with her father about a few security questions the man had, he and his daughter left to finish making their rounds with the senator’s guests.
The second they were gone, Grant filled his lungs slowly before letting the air out at the same, steady pace. He repeated the action several times in an attempt to bring his heart rate back to normal.
What the fuck was that?
Whatever it was, he didn’t care for it. Not. One. Fucking. Bit.
Unable to help himself, Grant glanced back over to where Brynnon and her father were now standing. She was talking and laughing with yet another of her father’s guests.
To anyone else, it would appear as though she were having the time of her life. But even from here, Grant could tell it was nothing more than a show.
Out of nowhere, he was hit with a sudden urge for her to come back. To talk and laugh with him. And not the fake-as-fuck laugh she was working the crowd with now.
None of it made any sense.
From the time he’d turned eighteen, his life had revolved around guns and bombs and taking down the worst humankind had to offer. He didn’t give a damn about smiles or laughing...or gorgeous red hair and hypnotic green eyes.
Grant was still giving himself that same speech weeks later, long after his job as Senator Cantrell’s personal security guard wa
s over. And night after night, despite all his best efforts, images of Brynnon Cantrell continued to invade his dreams.
****
Want to read more from Ms. Blakely’s R.I.S.C. Series?
See how it all started with Jake and the rest of Alpha Team by clicking below:
Book 1: Taking a Risk, Part One (Jake & Olivia’s HFN)
Book 2: Taking a Risk, Part Two (Jake & Olivia’s HEA)
Book 3: Beautiful Risk (Trevor & Lexi)
Coming Soon:
Book 5: Unpredictable Risk (Grant & Brynnon)
Check out R.I.S.C.’s new Bravo Team! Click below to read the first in Ms. Blakely’s new R.I.S.C. spin-off series in Susan Stoker’s Special Forces: Operation Alpha World:
Book 1: Rescuing Gracelynn (Nate & Gracelynn “Gracie”)
Coming Soon:
Book 2: Rescuing Katherine (Matt & Katherine)
Keep reading for an excerpt from Rescuing Gracelynn...
Rescuing Gracelynn Blurb
(Book 1 in Ms. Blakely’s new R.I.S.C. spin-off series, Bravo Team)
“Anna Blakely has another hit book! This exciting story is filled with action, drama, excitement, romance, terror and much, much more. If you want a book that pulls you in and keeps you excited to turn the next page, over and over again, then I highly recommend reading RESCUING GRACELYNN!”
- Bookbub reviewer
HE NEVER BELIEVED IN TRUE LOVE...UNTIL HE MET HER.
Bravo Team’s technical analyst and confirmed bachelor, Nathan Carter, is happy being single and has no intention of falling under the spell of a woman. Ever. Then, he meets Gracelynn. Before he knows it, the sweet, tenacious woman has Nate questioning his long-standing doubts about love, soul mates, and happily ever after.
Gracie McDaniels is happy with her new life and loves her new job. Working closely with the hunky guys on R.I.S.C.’s Bravo Team, including her future brother-in-law’s best friend, doesn’t seem as if it’ll be an issue. Then, she meets him.
Nate’s smart, funny, and handsome...everything she’s ever wanted in a partner. But just as they start to grow close, an innocent friendship from Gracie’s past comes back to haunt her. When her life is threatened, Gracie instinctively turns to Nate for protection and soon he and the other members of Bravo step up to keep Gracie safe.
With help from Ghost and his friends, the Delta Force and Bravo teams find themselves racing against the clock to save the only woman Nate has ever loved...before it’s too late.
Excerpt from Rescuing Gracelynn
“Are you okay?” Her question came out much softer than she’d meant for it to.
Nate gave her a humorless smirk as he shoved his hands into his pockets. “I should be asking you that question.”
“I’m...better.” And she was. The pounding in her head had quieted to a dull ache, and the intense trembling had subsided.
When he continued to just stand there, staring without saying another word, Gracie realized he was probably waiting for an apology. One that was well-deserved.
Standing, she laid what was left of the ice pack down onto her seat’s cushion and began to say what needed to be said. “I’m really sorry, Nate. We never should have left the building without one of you. Or, at the very least, we should have checked with you beforehand.”
She waited, but he remained silent. Okay. Apparently, more groveling was going to be involved.
Stepping toward him, Gracie nervously continued. “I-I know it wasn’t very smart of us, and you and Kole have every right to be upset. It’s just that, I was exhausted from going over everything with Jake and the others, and then doing the sketch with Dalton. Sarah mentioned coffee and I...”
She let her voice trail off, hoping he’d say something. Instead, he simply began walking slowly toward her, a muscle in his strong, sexy jaw bulging as he moved. The look he gave her was so intense, Gracie half-expected to see steam to start shooting out of his ears.
“Okay, look,” she said defensively. “I get that you’re upset, but we just wanted to go grab a quick coffee. That was it. I mean, you saw us, right? We were coming straight back. Yes, it was stupid, but you can’t seriously stay mad about this forev—”
The rest of the word were cut off when he grabbed both her upper arms and slammed his mouth down onto hers.
A tiny squeak escaped the back of her throat just before he used his tongue to pry her lips apart. Apology forgotten, Gracie opened her mouth and let him in.
Standing in the middle of their boss’s office, she held on tight as Nate began to devour her. He took and she gave. It was the most sensual, raw-emotions moment of her entire life.
When he was done feasting, Nate pulled away slowly and rested his forehead against hers. They remained locked in each other’s arms, their chests moving in sync as they both attempted to catch their breath.
Regaining some control, Nate lifted his head and locked his eyes with hers. “I thought I’d lost you.”
He sounded different than before. His voice was low and there was this dark edge to it she’d never heard before. “Nate?”
“You scared the shit out of me, baby.” He swallowed hard and shook his head back and forth slowly. “Don’t ever do that, again.”
Click below to purchase your copy of Rescuing Gracelynn today!
https://amzn.to/2KOap0o
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